Preface

Preface

This book is part documentary, part analysis, part catharsis and part provocation. Back in 2020, when we began the research project that the book draws from, we were already aware of the likelihood that the UK’s, and the world’s, cultural and creative sectors would never be the same. This idea stayed with us, even when we observed their ongoing resilience and the agility of their responses to the pandemic’s impact.

As we describe in the Introduction that follows, the motivation to assemble a team, devise a project methodology and undertake the research was instinctual and undertaken with sympathy. It was also done with empathy: as academic researchers who are also lecturers, tutors and supervisors, we were also physically divorced from our audiences and partners, our students and work colleagues. We were quickly learning to adapt to remote delivery and digital content creation to keep the business of higher education afloat. This gave the reflections of our research participants the quality of shared experiences and frustrations in common, as we met on our home office screens.

Our Introduction also reflects on the lack of time available for theorisation and critical reflection during the research. This was caused by the sheer pace and intensity of the pandemic; the nature of in-depth, mixed-method research undertaken with engaged partners and participants; and the desire for almost-real-time analysis. This jarred with the sense emerging from the sector that COVID-19 had unwittingly opened up a space for reflection, a potential strategic pause that might address issues and inequalities in creative and cultural production, participation and values.

This desire to regroup and reset was noted across the sector, even when the space to do so was limited. It was also an aim of our research project. We were able, through workshops, conferences and reference groups, to consider the broader implications of our findings for policy and investment models, sector strategy and operations. Yet it is through the process of writing that the analysis and synthesis of theory and empirical findings have been possible. We are grateful for the opportunity to undertake some of this critical thinking here in this volume.

Our research happened in a maelstrom during which we had to rely heavily on new and existing partnerships and collaborations. This large-scale consortium approach to research was new to many of us; but it was perhaps typical of much of the academic research and cultural activity that took place during the pandemic in its generous and highly collaborative nature. Just as we all hoped to see a better and more equitable cultural sector emerge from the pandemic, so do we hope that projects such as ours might herald a new era of more collaborative and engaged research, between academics themselves and between scholars and cultural organisations and practitioners.

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Pandemic culture

The impacts of COVID-19 on the UK cultural sector and implications for the future

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